KLANG – The daily Covid-19 vaccination rate, which surpassed 420,000 doses yesterday, bodes well for Malaysia in its bid to achieve herd immunity before year-end, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.
“This is a good news because it (daily vaccination rate) is among the highest in the world and, if we follow the vaccination phases, I think we can achieve the number of people that needs to be vaccinated before the end of this year and the process seems to be running smoothly,” he said after visiting Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) here today.
Muhyiddin said he has also ordered National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to purchase any available vaccine supply.
“Although we have purchased a lot (of vaccines), the delivery was delayed. So, if there are available supplies, or if Pharmaniaga, for example, can supply us with two or three million more doses, we will buy it. This is the commitment of the Perikatan Nasional government,” he said.
Yesterday, the country’s daily vaccination rate hit a record high at 421,479 doses, of which 264,034 were administered as the first dose and 157,445 others as the second dose.
Muhyiddin said data show that an increase in the vaccination rate will bring the number of new cases down, and it is hoped that this will also revive economic activities.
“The steps we have taken are quite effective and I’m confident that, with the support from all quarters, we will be able to overcome this problem,” he said while expressing confidence that the country will enter Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) soon.
In a bid to tackle the Covid-19 situation in the Klang Valley, Muhyiddin said he had, in principle, agreed to the Health Ministry’s (MoH) application for a RM1.1 billion allocation to enhance the capabilities of healthcare frontliners in fighting the coronavirus.
He said the application was made by the MoH secretary-general on behalf of the Greater Klang Valley Special Task Force led by Health deputy director-general Datuk Dr Chong Chee Kheong, and the Finance Ministry has been asked to speed up the approval.
“With this, I do hope that the situation in the Klang Valley can be tackled and that the number of cases will not spike anymore. The number saw a slight drop yesterday and I hope it will keep dropping.”
For the management of Covid-19 in the Klang Valley, Muhyiddin said an additional allocation of RM100 million has been set aside for outsourcing activities and another RM20 million for mental health management.
Also given is an additional allocation of RM5 million to increase hospital areas in Selangor and a Covid-19 allowance of RM1,000 a month for each staff members of intensive care units, he said.
Muhyiddin added that the government has also agreed to the setting up of a child nursery or the renting of premises for children of frontliners with an allocation of RM1.5 million and a special quarantine centre for frontliners with an allocation of RM2 million. – Bernama, July 13, 2021
